When the KIA Stinger first hit the auto show stage, it changed the game forever. No longer would KIA be viewed as just a cheap economy brand, known for making bland transportation-mobiles. From then on, KIA has been considered a genuine player in the sport sedan segment, thanks to the surprisingly good Stinger. Can it stack up against more premium offerings, though, such as the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe? Kelly Blue Book recently put the two together to find out.
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These two cars are surprisingly similar, to be honest. Both are four-door lift-back “coupes” that blend the sleek look of a sedan with the low roofline of a coupe and the practical tailgate of a hatchback. So they’re both good looking, practical and spacious. They’re also both rear-wheel drive as-standard with all-wheel drive options. Both come with four-cylinder and six-cylinder engine options and both have eight-speed automatic transmissions.
In terms of performance, both cars are matched pretty well. The four-cylinder engines for the Bimmer and KIA make 248 hp and 255 hp, respectively. They also make 258 lb-ft and 260 lb-ft, respectively. Since those were the models KBB was looking at, those are the one’s we’re going to talk about here.
So, on paper, they stack up pretty well. But which one is best?
According to Kelly Blue Book, it’s the KIA Stinger. Both are great cars to drive but the Stinger is a bit more exciting, thanks to its more raucous engine/exhaust noise and more engaging steering, while also being a lot cheaper. It also has more adjustability with its settings for steering and suspension, independently.
So despite being the newcomer from an unlikely brand, the KIA Stinger is a genuine sport sedan and one that any enthusiast should be happy to own. While not as premium as the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, the Stinger is significantly cheaper and can be optioned nicely before it even reaches the base price of the 4er. For enthusiasts on a budget or without brand snobbery, it’s hard to pass on the newer entry from South Korea.
[Source: KBB]
I was looking at the stinger yesterday–not looking to buy but just checking it out.
Looks really good.
Would I buy it over a three series? I probably would over the F30, never liked that three series.
When I test drove the three I was left feeling like something was missing in that car. The only plus it had over my E90 was the comfort levels (though I thought the F30 seats were horrible and under-padded) and obviously power.
I saw one of these the other day.
Looks good, but its still a Kia.
It does not have the efficacy of a proper German engineering brand.
Its just a Kia. :/
cool bro story
GC swan>Stinger ugly duckling. KIA tried to knock off existing A7 & still couldn’t get it right, looks like they took the Audi apart & couldn’t put it back together again.
cool story bro
The Stinger (and the G70) is really taking it to die Deutschen. There is really no reason for me to buy another BMW, Audi, Mercedes, or Porsche when I can get something on par (and in some aspects better dynamically) for a fraction of the price with worlds better reliability and, for the time being, some level of exclusivity (how many Stingers/G70s has anyone actually seen in the wild yet?)